By Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 24, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- More than one-third of kidney dialysis patients in the United States live in poor neighborhoods, a study finds.

Kidney dialysis rates in the United States are higher in poor neighborhoods, and they're increasing in those areas, the 15-year analysis shows. Dialysis is used to treat people with kidney failure.

Researchers analyzed U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data to assess overall dialysis rates and those in poor areas, defined as having a a zip code where at least 20 percent of people live below the federal poverty line.

The results showed that 27.4 percent of adults who began dialysis between 1995 and 2004 lived in poor neighborhoods, compared with about 11 percent of adults in the general population.

Those percentages increased to 34 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively, between 2005 and 2010, said the researchers from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

The study was published recently in the journal Hemodialysis International.

The researchers said it's not clear why kidney failure and dialysis rates are higher in poor neighborhoods. Possible reasons could be less access to health care, greater exposure to environmental toxins and lifestyle habits, they said.

Future studies of kidney failure rates should examine long-term trends in poverty at the individual level and in smaller geographic areas, said corresponding author Dr. Holly Kramer and colleagues.

"The collection of such data may help track national and local trends in poverty status and be used to develop policies for improving health outcomes and disease prevention," they wrote.

More information

The National Kidney Foundation has more about dialysis.

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(HealthDay News) -- Smartphones should be kept a safe distance from implanted cardiac devices like pacemakers and defibrillators, in the rare chance that signaling interference occurs, according to new research. The findings were scheduled to be presented Monday at the joint meeting of the European Heart Rhythm Association of the European Society of Cardiology and Cardiostim in Milan.

Researchers tracked the effects of smartphones on 308 patients with an implanted cardiac device. Participants were exposed to the electromagnetic field of 3 common smartphones: the Samsung Galaxy 3; Nokia Lumia; and HTC One XL. These phones were placed on the patients' skin directly above their heart device. After being connected to a radio communication tester that functions like a mobile network station, the researchers analyzed how activities such as connecting calls, ringing, talking, and hanging up all affected the cardiac devices. Electrocardiograms recorded continuously.

After conducting more than 3,400 tests on EMI, the researchers found that only 1 of the patients was affected by interference caused by smartphones. This person had a magnetic resonance imaging-compatible implanted defibrillator, which misinterpreted electromagnetic waves from the Nokia and HTC smartphones. The new findings suggest that interference between smartphones and cardiac devices is uncommon; however, it "can occur, so the current recommendations on keeping a safe distance should be upheld." lead author Carsten Lennerz, M.D., a cardiology resident at the German Heart Centre in Munich, said in a news release from the European Society of Cardiology.

"Nearly everyone uses smartphones and there is the possibility of interference with a cardiac device if you come too close," senior author Christof Kolb, M.D., prior head of electrophysiology at the German Heart Centre, said in the news release. "Patients with a cardiac device can use a smartphone," Kolb said. "But they should not place it directly over the cardiac device. That means not storing it in a pocket above the cardiac device. They should also hold their smartphone to the ear opposite to the side of the device implant."

Source

1. European Society of Cardiology News Release, June 22, 2015

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